If nearly every major financial tie seems to intersect with favorable political outcomes, are Americans confronting systemic corruption or something new and even more entrenched?
Republicans in that chamber were literally glowing and smiling after the SOTU. They thought he was amazing and told him so. It's called identity fusion. He's great---their great.
As always he tried to ride the coattails of heroes. He projected all his crimes onto people that did none of those things. Then gaslighted the hell out everyone about the Biden Administration's record.
Hold the truth close and never let it go. Teach it. Preach it. See you in the streets.
Tom nicely recounts some of Trump's more recent grifts. Most of these are conflicts of interest that are normally considered illegal. Billionaires, Trump included, would react with "So, sue me." He can say that because he has the most corrupt Attorney General in our lifetime who would not prosecute him for a murder in the White House caught on TV.
What Thom does not dive into is the hundreds of thousands of people who have died because of his reckless policies, like illegal invasions to support his extortion racket to make bucks off corrupt nations. Then there is ending USAID, already killing thousands, and continuing bipartisan support for Palestinian genocide with the apparent goal of turning Gaza into a trillion-dollar Mediterranean resort.
Here at home, Trump's proposed ending of government health insurance programs to justify his stupid tariffs will kill thousands too. Sending people two-thousand-dollar checks every year from tariff income is not an adequate replacement for health insurance. It is merely a bribe to shut up lower-income complaints. Trump knows the payments will go for a new F150 or Dodge Ram pick-up - not healthcare. The cost of one gallbladder operation, a common middle-aged surgery, runs 15-20 thousand dollars. Then, with no money for healthcare bills when needed, the lower 50% will die or go bankrupt - and his billionaire cronies will make a bundle foreclosing on them.
Thanks Thom for listing most of Trumps greatest bribery grifts. I'd love to see a TV commercial listing all of these bribes. Slowly scrolling monosyllabic one liners in large font. Though this commercial would likely have to be longer than a 30 second spot to capture half of his grifts. I've seen ads for Melania, Donny and the GOP - how about one for the Dems?!
I feel as though I should have no more capacity for surprise, but I do indeed find it surprising more people are not up in arms about the blatant grift. Overall his speech was predictable and mostly boring, but perhaps the most absurd part was the fraudster-in-chief announcing a war on fraud. Are you kidding me? The regime's blatancy is the most troubling aspect of all of this. Either they are utterly power-drunk or they think they've already rigged it securely enough that they won't be held accountable.
Knowing about his grift is one thing but seeing the list of his corruptive tactics in black and white is very hard to digest.
I continue to put all of my eggs in the Epstein basket. It was reported that one of the survivors accused trump of sexually assaulting her as a minor, then hitting her. She was interviewed four times by the FBI. All four are indexed in the file but only one was released that doesn't include trump's name. This is a blatant coverup to protect this slimy sack of human waste. But it's just a matter of time. The survivors who suffered silently for decades and finally finding their voice are not going away....
The Looong Boring Lie.....
Republicans in that chamber were literally glowing and smiling after the SOTU. They thought he was amazing and told him so. It's called identity fusion. He's great---their great.
As always he tried to ride the coattails of heroes. He projected all his crimes onto people that did none of those things. Then gaslighted the hell out everyone about the Biden Administration's record.
Hold the truth close and never let it go. Teach it. Preach it. See you in the streets.
The old saw "We have the best government money can buy" is more true today than ever.
Tom nicely recounts some of Trump's more recent grifts. Most of these are conflicts of interest that are normally considered illegal. Billionaires, Trump included, would react with "So, sue me." He can say that because he has the most corrupt Attorney General in our lifetime who would not prosecute him for a murder in the White House caught on TV.
What Thom does not dive into is the hundreds of thousands of people who have died because of his reckless policies, like illegal invasions to support his extortion racket to make bucks off corrupt nations. Then there is ending USAID, already killing thousands, and continuing bipartisan support for Palestinian genocide with the apparent goal of turning Gaza into a trillion-dollar Mediterranean resort.
Here at home, Trump's proposed ending of government health insurance programs to justify his stupid tariffs will kill thousands too. Sending people two-thousand-dollar checks every year from tariff income is not an adequate replacement for health insurance. It is merely a bribe to shut up lower-income complaints. Trump knows the payments will go for a new F150 or Dodge Ram pick-up - not healthcare. The cost of one gallbladder operation, a common middle-aged surgery, runs 15-20 thousand dollars. Then, with no money for healthcare bills when needed, the lower 50% will die or go bankrupt - and his billionaire cronies will make a bundle foreclosing on them.
Thanks Thom for listing most of Trumps greatest bribery grifts. I'd love to see a TV commercial listing all of these bribes. Slowly scrolling monosyllabic one liners in large font. Though this commercial would likely have to be longer than a 30 second spot to capture half of his grifts. I've seen ads for Melania, Donny and the GOP - how about one for the Dems?!
Yes. Oligarchy. Tempertantrump has always used others money and placed his name on it as if it were his.
I feel as though I should have no more capacity for surprise, but I do indeed find it surprising more people are not up in arms about the blatant grift. Overall his speech was predictable and mostly boring, but perhaps the most absurd part was the fraudster-in-chief announcing a war on fraud. Are you kidding me? The regime's blatancy is the most troubling aspect of all of this. Either they are utterly power-drunk or they think they've already rigged it securely enough that they won't be held accountable.
Methinks both of the above.
The question - does this new economy still need consumers?
Knowing about his grift is one thing but seeing the list of his corruptive tactics in black and white is very hard to digest.
I continue to put all of my eggs in the Epstein basket. It was reported that one of the survivors accused trump of sexually assaulting her as a minor, then hitting her. She was interviewed four times by the FBI. All four are indexed in the file but only one was released that doesn't include trump's name. This is a blatant coverup to protect this slimy sack of human waste. But it's just a matter of time. The survivors who suffered silently for decades and finally finding their voice are not going away....